Artotel Takes Over Management of Four U Stay Hotels as U Stay Targets Up to 50 More

Artotel Group and U Stay Group have entered into a Hotel Management Agreement (HMA) covering four hotels in Jakarta and Bali. The agreement comes alongside U Stay’s target to add up to 50 hotels, or around 5,000 rooms, within three years, as reported by Event Guide on 28 September 2026.

Four properties join the Artotel network

The management agreement was signed in Jakarta on 7 September 2026. Under the deal, Artotel Group manages U Stay’s entire current portfolio of four hotels. All four join the “by ARTOTEL” brand collection within the Artotel Group network.

The properties named in the report are:

• U Stay by ARTOTEL – Mangga Besar;
• U Stay by ARTOTEL – Asem Baris;
• U Stay Style Batik by ARTOTEL – Jakarta;
• U Stay Aqilah Villa by ARTOTEL – Bali.

Three properties are therefore in Jakarta and one is in Bali. The use of the “by ARTOTEL” identity is a visible part of their integration into Artotel’s management network.

This development should be understood as the addition of four existing U Stay properties to Artotel’s management network, rather than the announcement of four new hotel openings. The available report describes changes in management and branding, without giving new opening dates for the individual properties.

U Stay Group has been active in Indonesia’s hotel industry since 2017. The partnership brings together U Stay’s portfolio across two locations and an operator with a broader network of brands and destinations.

The three-year target remains an expansion plan

U Stay Group founder Nofel Saleh Hilabi outlined the company’s development ambitions for the next three years. Its stated target is to add up to 50 hotels, or around 5,000 rooms.

These figures represent a development target, not the number of properties already placed under Artotel’s management through the September agreement. The confirmed additions remain the four hotels in Jakarta and Bali.

Distinguishing the current portfolio from the expansion target is important to avoid overstating the scale of the agreement. The words “up to” also indicate the upper limit of the company’s stated ambition, rather than a guarantee that the full number will be delivered within that period.

The Event Guide report does not provide a list of locations for the additional hotels, an opening schedule, investment requirements or room counts for individual projects. There is therefore no basis yet for identifying priority cities or the order in which developments will proceed.

For readers in the franchise sector, the announcement illustrates plans to expand a hotel network through a management partnership. However, the medium-term target should remain distinct from the arrangements already announced for identifiable properties.

Artotel’s links with hotel franchise brands

Artotel Group is an Indonesian hotel operator that brings together four business areas: accommodation, food and beverage, event management, and curated products. These operate under its Stay, Dine, Play and Shop divisions respectively.

Its brand portfolio includes ARTOTEL, ARTOTEL Suites, ARTOTEL Casa, ARTOTEL Collections and ROOMS INC. Network locations named in the report include Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Medan, Batam, Bali and Magelang.

Artotel also has ties to the franchise sector through its strategic partnership with Louvre Group in Indonesia. Artotel manages and develops the KYRIAD, GOLDEN TULIP and ROYAL TULIP franchise brands.

According to the report, KYRIAD has locations in Jakarta, Tangerang, Cepu and Lampung, among others. GOLDEN TULIP’s locations include Bali, Malang, Makassar, Pontianak, Balikpapan and Belitung, while ROYAL TULIP is reported to have a presence in Bali.

However, Artotel’s relationship with these franchise brands does not automatically make the U Stay deal a franchise agreement. The document reported for this latest partnership is specifically an HMA: a hotel management agreement.

Understand the partnership structure before assessing opportunities

For those considering Indonesia’s franchise market, the key point is to distinguish between the brand, the operator, the properties already in the network and the planned additions. These four elements are connected, but they are not interchangeable.

Adding the “by ARTOTEL” identity to U Stay hotels signals their entry into a brand collection within Artotel’s network. The target of up to 50 additional hotels, meanwhile, describes U Stay’s ambitions for the coming years. The announcement does not include an investment offer or partnership terms for prospective individual partners.

Practical takeaway: before assessing a potential partnership, confirm the type of agreement, identify the properties that have actually joined the network and request details of how the expansion will be delivered. Do not equate a target number of hotels with completed openings, or assume that every management partnership is a franchise.